For many car owners, comprehensive car insurance is a non-negotiable. And like most things, it's costing Australians more and more each year.
Premiums may get cheaper the older you are, but even people in the age group with the cheapest average premium (drivers aged 60–69) are paying an average $1220 a year for comprehensive car insurance.
Drivers aged 70 and over pay the second-cheapest premium from any age group ($1230 par year on average), while younger drivers under 21 are forking out on average $3836 a year to insure their wheels with comprehensive coverage.
Drivers under 21 are forking out on average $3836 a year for comprehensive coverage
When you're talking thousands rather than hundreds of dollars each year, it's even more important that you're getting the best value for your money.
CHOICE insurance experts have reviewed more than 60 comprehensive car insurance policies from around 40 brands, assessing each one on their price and the coverage they offer, including exclusions and limits.
We then calculate an overall CHOICE Expert Rating – a percentage score that reflects a policy's level of cover and the value for money it offers.
Not only can this help you compare policies like-for-like, but it also gives you an idea of the policies you probably want to swerve hard to avoid.
Remember, unlike other insurance comparison websites, we don't get paid by the insurers we're comparing and we won't harass you – no phone calls, no commissions.
Save money and get better cover with insurance policies recommended by CHOICE – independent and not-for-profit.
Lowest scoring car insurance policies
The policies below received the lowest CHOICE Expert Rating of all the policies we looked at.
"The biggest reason these policies have ended up as our bottom performers is how much they cost," says CHOICE car insurance expert Mark Blades.
There are better policies out there that will give you much better value for money
Mark Blades, CHOICE car insurance expert
"These policies are either middling for coverage and poor for price, such as these specific products from Bupa, Huddle and AHM.
"Or in the case of Suncorp and GIO, they are some of the most expensive products in our entire comparison and are missing the premium cover to match.
"There are better policies out there that will give you much better value for money."
CHOICE tip: Make sure you're not paying for optional inclusions you don't necessarily need. You may save some money if you forego things like a hire car after theft or an accident, roadside assistance, or new car replacement if you write off a new car.
We don't want you to end up with a dud buy, so here are the products that scored lowest in our lab tests. Consider becoming a CHOICE member to see the best performers.
Bupa Comprehensive, Huddle Comprehensive, AHM Comprehensive
These three policies offer exactly the same cover, but with slight variations in price. Bupa and AHM have partnered with Huddle insurance (which is underwritten by Hollard) to create these virtually identical policies.
Another thing they have in common? They have the lowest CHOICE Expert Ratings of all the car insurance policies in our comparison. They're all rated at 52% for their cover, but their price scores are slightly different.
Here's how they stack up.
| Bupa Comprehensive | Huddle Comprehensive | AHM Comprehensive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHOICE Expert Rating | 47% | 50% | 51% |
| Cover score | 52% | 52% | 52% |
| Price score | 39% | 46% | 50% |
Here are some of the limitations and negatives of these policies:
- No choice of repairer. Most policies let you choose the repairer (or have it available as an optional extra). When you have to use the insurer's repairer there is a chance your car won't be repaired locally, meaning a long trip to pick it up.
- High excesses for younger drivers. While most policies impose additional excesses for drivers under 25, the age excesses for these policies are particularly high: $800 for drivers aged 21–24 and $1200 for drivers under 21. Age excesses from more competitive policies are around the $400–600 mark.
- Replacement parts policy – some insurers commit to using genuine or OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts on newer vehicles, and provide specific details around when they will use aftermarket or refurbished parts. These policies give no such detail, except to say they may use "new or quality used parts, consistent with the age and condition of your car".
- $500 limit for personal items that are stolen from your vehicle or damaged in an accident. Many other insurers have raised this to $1000–1500 in recent years.
- $500 replacement cost for baby seats, capsules and prams. In comparison, some insurers opt to provide 'reasonable costs' of replacement for these items. With some prams alone costing over $1000, this coverage may not be enough to replace items damaged in an accident.
- No cover for transport costs. Many policies include a few hundred dollars to cover the cost of a cab from the scene of an incident to your home or destination, and often cover the cost to get to the repairer to collect your car. These policies don't cover any of that.
- $500 for emergency accommodation and travel, which only applies 200km away from home if the car cannot be driven. More typical coverage from other policies are $1000 and 100km away from home.
- If you choose the options to add on coverage for a hire car if your car is stolen, you'll only get the rental for 14 days – which is quite short compared to the rest of the market.
GIO Platinum & Suncorp Comprehensive Advantages
These top shelf policies are near-identical in terms of coverage, but with a slight difference in price.
The cover they offer is pretty good, but nine other policies we've compared score higher than these.
They rated the lowest for price, and both brands actually have cheaper policies that offer a better balance of price and cover.
| Suncorp Comprehensive Advantages | GIO Platinum | |
|---|---|---|
| CHOICE Expert Rating | 54% | 57% |
| Price score | 28% | 35% |
| Cover score | 72% | 72% |
Some positives of these policies include:
- Choice of repairer, with authorised repairs guaranteed for the life of the vehicle.
- Excellent cover for hire cars after theft or accident. These policies have a reasonable daily rate ($100) but no time limit, meaning if there are delays repairing your car you won't run out of hire car benefit. These insurers also extend comprehensive car insurance to the hire car, as if it were your own car.
- New car replacement after a total loss. If you total your new car within a few years of first buying it, many insurers will replace it with a new equivalent vehicle. These policies include this cover for two years, which is industry standard. They also have an additional benefit for loyal customers: if you insure your car with one of these policies within 13 months of its first registration, and keep the policy without a break in cover, the new car replacement benefit applies for the lifetime of the vehicle.
On balance, however, the price of these policies is what drags their overall score down.
The price of these policies is what drags their overall score down
You might expect a policy with such comprehensive cover to be expensive, but these policies are pricey with surprising consistency.
In our latest pricing dataset (containing on average 7230 quotes per product) Suncorp Comprehensive Advantages provided the most expensive quote a quarter of the time.
We're on your side
For more than 60 years, we've been making a difference for Australian consumers. In that time, we've never taken ads or sponsorship.
Instead we're funded by members who value expert reviews and independent product testing.
With no self-interest behind our advice, you don't just buy smarter, you get the answers that you need.
You know without hesitation what's safe for you and your family. And our recent sunscreens test showed just how important it is to keep business claims in check.
So you'll never be alone when something goes wrong or a business treats you unfairly.
Learn more about CHOICE membership today
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
